‘Sick of dirty politicians’: Source of Mark Robinson’s latest woes? 2 conservatives | Opinion
There’s nothing funny about Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s ties to a now-closed nonprofit run by his wife that’s come under scrutiny for reimbursement claims it filed with the government, but his campaign’s response to the situation is ridiculous.
Robinson and his wife, Yolanda Hill, former owner of the nonprofit Balanced Nutrition, claim the nonprofit has come under scrutiny because Robinson is the Republican candidate for governor.
Robinson campaign spokesman Mike Lonergan said Monday that findings that the nonprofit overcharged a government food program by $132,000 “are politically motivated at the core.”
The alleged partisan hounding, the Robinson camp implies, is being influenced by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and intended to promote state Attorney General Josh Stein, Robinson’s Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial race. Lonergan said that once Robinson entered the race for governor, a “Democrat-run state agency” started questioning payments to Balanced Nutrition.
The Robinson camp further claims that so-called liberals in the media are focusing on the payment dispute and other issues in Robinson’s background at the behest of Democrats.
Robinson’s response doesn’t fit the facts. First, the compliance review carried out by the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is a standard procedure to ensure the accuracy of payments under the Child and Adult Care Food Program, a federal program overseen by the state.
Second, the two individuals who have brought Balanced Nutrition’s problems to public attention are stout conservatives.
Don Carrington, 73, a longtime employee of the conservative John Locke Foundation and a former executive editor of its news publication, The Carolina Journal, has dug deeply into Balanced Nutrition’s records and DHHS documents to uncover the nonprofit’s issues.
Carrington turned over his findings to Brant Clifton, a Pinehurst blogger who publishes The Daily Haymaker, which describes itself as offering “common sense conservative commentary for the Carolinas.” Clifton posted dozens of articles questioning Balanced Nutrition and Robinson’s ties to it before mainstream media picked up the story.
Carrington told me that DHHS was already examining payments to Balanced Nutrition when he began exploring the nonprofit’s problems. He offered what he found to various media outlets without success until Clifton said he would publish it. Carrington thought it would be just a few posts, but dozens more came as the situation developed.
“I shared it with him and he just went to town with it,” Carrington said.
What piqued Carrington’s interest was the presence of Balanced Nutrition in Robinson’s financial disclosure report. The Greensboro nonprofit, he said, was the sole source of the Robinson family’s income in 2020 when Robinson ran for lieutenant governor, his first elected office.
Carrington, who now investigates as a hobby, was surprised that media were not combing through the background of the political newcomer. He decided to dig into it himself.
Clifton said he modeled The Daily Haymaker on the conservative Breitbart News Network, a far-right website founded by the conservative journalist Andrew Breitbart. But Clifton said his reporting is more about policing politics than partisanship.
“I’m just sick of dirty politicians,” he said. “Just behave yourself and you won’t have a problem with little ol’ me.”
Some of the blog’s Republican followers have criticized Clifton for posting critical reports on Robinson and Balanced Nutrition.
One commentator with the username “Trumpmom” commented under the blog’s latest post on Robinson, “Keep on talking bad about Mark and slandering his name and we will end up with DEMOCRAT Josh Stein for Gov. in NC! Shut the hell up!”
Clifton won’t be quiet. “I’m doing what a good citizen ought to do: Keep an eye out for nonsense and call it out,” he said.
It’s not Democrats who are pummeling Robinson. It’s conservatives delivering The Haymaker.